First, it’s important to temper expectations regarding the Sonic RS. It is not an SS. That fact was made abundantly clear in our tech briefing before we drove. It’s also not some willy-nilly styling package, like RS models of old (or new, if you count the RS packs on the Cruze and Camaro). Instead, this Sonic occupies a little-used middle ground in the Chevrolet lineup, bridging the gap between a regular Sonic hatch and something…else (possibly a Sonic SS that the Chevrolet PR people denied ad infinitum).